2007: A mainstay of the Purdue top five as a freshman, he posted a pair of top 20 finishes, taking seventh at the Purdue Open (8/31) and 17th at the Great American Legends (9/7); scored a top 8K time of 26:11.80 at the Pre-National Invitational (10/13).

High School: Four-year letterwinner in both cross country and track at Bedford High School; all-conference in cross country as a sophomore, junior and senior; member of the state runner-up 4x800-meter relay team as a junior; indoor 1600-meter conference and state champion with a time of 4:14 in track as a senior; most valuable in both cross country and track as a senior.

Personal: Alexander James Folk was born on April 10, 1989, in Toledo, Ohio; is the son of Jeff and Beth Folk; has one brother, Joshua, and three sisters, Vanessa, Hillary and Natalie; majoring health science.